This is the thing. The gameplay is fine.
It's got a cover system, it's got Uncharted-style melee combat (which is to say, it's almost exactly Uncharted's melee combat), it's got crafting, it's got stealth... it's got all that.
But none of that stuff is new, and it doesn't really innovate on the games before it. Resident Evil 3 and 4 had on-the-fly crafting, there are a plethora of games with better stealth elements, and just looking at the way Joel moves in the OP's video, I wouldn't blame somebody for mistaking it for a realistic Gears of War reboot (that last one is nitpicky, I guess).
At best, I can say it amalgamates all of those elements into something that works, but I can't say in good faith that the gameplay is inspired. I've seen all the elements before, albeit in different games.
Except it does innovate. The crafting system and crafting wheel is far more sophisticated than what's in RE4, and it also doesn't break you away from the game in order to use it. With TLOU when accessing your inventory or crafting wheel, you're still very much in the thick of battle with your surroundings completely and clearly visible, unlike in RE4. The stealth and environment design also far better facilitates the on the fly crafting in TLOU, as you're constantly hiding, crouching, jumping etc, to scoot around corners, find areas of cover, hiding spots etc in which to quickly craft whilst still observing everything around you.
And sure, MGSV has better stealth options, but you'd expect it to given it's a stealth game, and the very best at that. TLOU's stealth mechanics are still highly competent and add depth and diversity to engagements.
Then there's the engagements themselves. Whereas RE4 (which is in my top 10 all time games) is essentially '
shooting gallery the game', where the majority of enemies are just brain dead (literally) foes who just plod towards you slowly or stupidly, to the point where often times you just stand and shoot them one by one with only the occasional need for re-positioning (if they get too close), in TLOU engagements are generally far more dynamic.
With the AI constantly flanking, being able to move, climb, run, jump, hide, observe changes (you running out of ammo, or being injured, using one of their friends as hostage etc) and so on, so much faster and more intelligently than the majority of zombies in RE, it completely changes the ebb and flow of most encounters and generally requires more from the player. Even the 'zombies' in TLOU all move far quicker than your average zombie in RE, which again changes the pace and diversity of engagements. It's less strict shooting gallery, and more constant mobility, situational awareness, mix of stealth, environmental objects, distractions, melee and so on.
